friday five

five area stories of note:

luke tsai's favorite bay area dishes of the year include a bowl of spicy malatang in downtown berkeley and smothered pork chops in oakland's dimond district. (kqed)

chef and kensington local lily chait's cool wednesday routine. (found sf)

uqbar's fresh mediterranean plates nourish in west berkeley. (east bay express)

earned: west oakland's june's, san francisco's jules and side a have landed on this list. (esquire)

please enjoy this seafaring promo for bingo again at the prescott market. (bingo again/instagram)

bonus: canvas trader joe's bags are the height of chic in london. (cnn)

and a quick holiday baking psa: crixa cakes' zoltan der and elizabeth kloian have launched their paid recipe subscription site crixa.net. (their whipped cream secrets alone? priceless.)

december 5, 2025 (so grateful for all tips and cheer so far this season.)